Turbulence promotes chemical reactions, heat-transfer operations, mixing, and combustion processes in many chemical processes. Effective use of turbulence can increase the interfacial contact of reagents so as to decrease reaction times and the cost and time of producing many chemicals.
Many existing chemical process units use tubular reactors to continuously mix and react two or more reagents under turbulent diffusion conditions (Re >2000). Reagents can be injected into tubular reactors in a number of different ways. One approach is to introduce the reagents so that they meet at an angle (e.g., 90 degrees). Another approach has the reagents meet coaxially. The coaxial approach, however, is less efficient in inducting rapid mixing between the two fluids compared to when fluids meet at angles.
Examples of such tubular reactors include those illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,997 to Mitchel, which provides an illustration of an impingement mixer used in a reaction scheme for producing tetrabromobisphenol-A. Other examples of tubular reactors can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,332,442 to Reed; 5,845,993 to Shirtum; and 5,117,048 to Zaby.